You will want to make this in September when delicious Black Mission figs come to the market. They are soft and impossibly seductive. This recipe from the south of Italy is a favorite. This sorbet will be a bit chunky with fig pieces. If you prefer a smoother result, place the mixture as soon as it cools in the saucepan in a food processor and run by pulsing until smooth, then place in the freezer.

[photo: Clifford A. Wright]

Yield: Makes 1 quart
Preparation Time: 3 hours 15 minutes

1 3/4 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

1 pound ripe figs, stems removed, quartered

2 heaping tablespoons orange blossom honey

1 tablespoon orange liqueur, such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier

In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat with the sugar and figs, stirring roughly so the fig break up, 5 minutes. Add the honey and orange liqueur and cool. Transfer to a metal bowl and place in the freezer for 3 hours, stirring once every 30 minutes.

I always felt it would take several lifetimes to research the many facets of Mediterranean cooking--history, languages, influences, the range of culinary resourcefulness and extravagance, and the varied tastes of fourteen countries. In his monumental work [Mediterranean Feast], Clifford Wright has made a huge contribution. An astonishing accomplishment. - Paula Wolfert, author of The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean

Cucina Paradiso is a wonderfully insightful and refreshingly personal exploration of one of the world’s most exciting cuisines--full of rich, colorful, and highly seasoned dishes unlike any other Italian food you know. The book is also full of fascinating history. Food is the prism through which Clifford Wright views Sicily and Sicilian culture. - Paula Wolfert, author of Paula Wolfert’s World of Food, Mediterranean Cooking, The Cooking of South-West France, an